War of Timelines
by TheGirlWithFarTooManyIdeas
Summary: OotP AU. The Veil is torn, and the streams of time are falling apart. Harry Potter finds himself confronted by mirrors of himself - a feral child, a cold mafia prince, a disturbed villainous visionary - all vying for control not just of their own destinies, but of all worlds in existence. UP FOR ADOPTION
1. Chapter 1

**War of Timelines**

 _ **Wanda: Yes, borrowing one of my own challenges again. But hey, I've been sitting on this idea for a while, and I just couldn't help myself. This is a galaxy range story, people. Buckle up!**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**_

 **Prologue**

" _Don't move – STOP IT DUDLEY, YOU'RE RUNNING RIGHT AT IT!"_

 _A horrible squealing yell and Dudley's footsteps stopped. At the same moment, Harry felt a creeping chill behind him that could only mean one thing – there was more than one of them._

" _DUDLEY, KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT WHATEVER YOU DO KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT! Wand- Wand-"_

This certainly wasn't one of Harry Potter's better days. Having narrowly dodged a violent confrontation with his cousin Dudley thanks to the appearance of a mutual enemy; he was now locked in a desperate struggle to protect their souls from a pair of hungry Dementors. He thought in that moment that fate might have it out for him.

However, fate was a trollish mistress, and as she often did she was about to play a trick on him...

Far away from where Harry and Dudley were being attacked, the Unspeakables were taking notes at the so called Veil of Death.

Whether or not they were familiar with the 'man was not meant to meddle' riot act that the non magical folk had subjected themselves to on a fairly regular basis, they ended up starting an avalanche of danger that would forever change the face of their world.

One of them tore the veil.

And the world erupted in blinding multicolored light.

Contrary to popular belief, the Veil of Death was not actually a gateway to the afterlife. The misconception was based on the fact that everyone who passed through the veil had never returned, so it was assumed they were dead. It was a similar thought process than that which was often given to soldiers who had gone MIA – generally they figured that if it was possible to come back, obviously anyone who fell through would have returned immediately.

However, it was not death, but other worlds that awaited those who fell to the other side.

The theory of the multiverse was pervading in the muggle world, but the magical world was more sceptical. Having the powers of magic, they were more inclined to believe that they already knew all the secrets of the world. Yes, they were quite proud of their knowledge of the world, which does indeed act as a common flaw for the community as a whole no matter what world they live in.

But the theory runs true, and it was about to be vindicated.

For every world, there is another, another afterlife, another future, another destiny...and sometimes, another Harry Potter.

No two person is the same, even if they bear similar names, appearances, voices, faces, parents and destinies. In the end, each person is different in the choices they make. That is the blessing and the curse of sentience, which formed the apex of the split timelines – the ability to choose differently, even in the face of all life has to throw at you.

And the ones who came to touch Harry James Potter's, born in the fading days of July, life, would alter it dramatically.

 **% &%&%&%&%&%&%&%&**

Over the cries of his parent's final moments and the laughter of Lord Voldemort as the Dementor bore down on him, Harry heard something.

A loud, blistering, challenging howl.

Suddenly, the whole alley, which had been utterly black, was full of blinding light. The dementor shrieked in agony and released him at once, dropping him to the ground.

Harry scrambled up against the wall, shifting his glasses and his eyes fought to see anything in the white force. It began to dim slightly, and he realized someone was standing there who hadn't been there before.

Well...perhaps _standing_ wasn't the right word. It was more like _crouching_ , leaning back and forth to the point of giving the illusion of being on all fours.

When the light faded, he could see more clearly. Two people who had not been in the ally before the dementors swept down on him and his cousin came into focus.

The one crouching, the one who was still wreathed in the fading white light, was a young girl...perhaps Ginny's age, or Hermione's. She was very tall, rail thin and all muscle. But that wasn't the shocking thing about looking at her.

Her black hair was so long it fell down to her waist. It was matted with mud, flowers and briars, which gave a look of wild beauty. Her skin was dirty and covered in old scratches. Her clothes – an old leather jacket, a faded brown shirt and camouflage jeans – were also torn, muddy and worn. She was barefoot as well. Her eyes were dark green, bangs falling down around them like a forest curtain.

 _She looks feral. She...she almost looks like an animal._

The other was a boy, the same height as Harry himself. However, the similarities stopped there. The boy was dressed entirely in grey and black. He had a very sophisticated look about him, harsh and straight lined. His skin was pale and much less beaten-looking than the girl, which made the long mark going down from the tip of his chin to further into his chest all the more jarring compared to such a clean and ordinary appearance. His hair was silver grey, though it was clearly dyed from its natural colour.

That wasn't what shocked Harry the most. What shocked him was the face.

The dark green eyes.

The lightning shaped scar on his forehead.

He knew them very well. He saw them in the mirror every morning when he got out of bed. That was _him._..and yet, _not him_ at the same time. But that was impossible! Wasn't it?

If the other boy had noticed what Harry had, he gave no sign of it. Instead, he looked around wildly for a minute before raising a hand to his ear.

"Daphne? Ginerva? Are you seeing this? What just happened?" He demanded, before pausing. When he didn't get an answer, he became visibly more aggravated. "Someone, _come in_! _What is happening!?_ "

If the girl was bothered by anything that had just happened, she gave no sign of it. She stood ramrod still, head tilted slightly like she was struggling to hear something.

Harry stumbled to his feet and walked over to his cousin. Dudley had turned an ugly pasty white colour, but he was still breathing and his heart was beating. The Dementor hadn't gotten his soul. Harry felt somewhat surprised at how relieved he was to discover this. As much as he had hated Dudley for bullying him so relentlessly over the years, he didn't want him to loose his soul and die.

"More." The girl said fearfully.

"What?" The other boy demanded, brought out of his struggle with...an earpiece? Harry was sure that's what it was, but that couldn't be right – electronics didn't work with magical interference. Hermione had said so herself.

"More monsters." The girl repeated. Her voice was scratchy and stilted, and she stumbled over the word monsters.

"You-You mean the _dementors?_ " Harry demanded, finally wrestling free of his shock to form coherent sentences. "How-how can you be sure?"

"I hear them." The girl whispered, shuddering violently. She whimpered, clenching her fists. "They're coming...they're all coming."

"Fucking...! Bullshit! What a load of...in muggle territory...complete bull..." The other boy sputtered, enraged. "Who would be stupid enough...!? Fuck! We need to get to the nearest wizard society."

He took a few steps forward and rounded on Harry, examining him for a moment before catching sight of his wand. He grabbed it and shoved it in Harry's face. "Is this yours!?"

"Y-Yeah." Harry stammered, taking it back while staring blankly.

"Good! If you want to keep your soul, take us to the nearest entrance to Diagon Alley." The boy said, visibly struggling to figure out where might have been closest.

The girl let out a dismayed cry and bolted from the alley. A moment later, Harry realized what had spooked her – icy coldness washed over him again. He exchanged a look with the other boy and, casting a levitation spell on the prone Dudley, bolted after the girl into the dark streets of Little Whining.

She was fast! Incredibly fast. Harry was reasonably athletic himself, but even exerting himself he could barely keep himself two metres behind her. The iciness in his chest was getting worse even as they put considerable distance between themselves and the street...what was going on...

Harry cast a look over his shoulder, and was horrified and dumbfounded by what he saw.

The sky above his muggle neighbourhood was filled with Dementors. They blocked out the moon and the stars, and even the air was heavy and full of despair. He swore, even in his muddled memory, that there were more even then in the time where he had rescued his godfather.

What were they doing here!?

He had to cast a patronus...but he could hardly think through the panic, the fear, the confusion and the still growing horror in his chest. He could hardly think, let alone process his thoughts enough to focus upon any of his few good memories – all he could see or hear was Voldemort's laughter, his mother screaming, the green light of death, Cedric's wide and sightless eyes...

"EXPECO PATRONUM!"

The other boy's voice cut through the gloom like a knife. A sliver fox darted past Harry and leapt into the sky, scattering the soul sucking demons like pinballs in every direction.

Harry glanced at him as they kept running. The other boy nodded slightly and pushed onwards to keep up with the girl.

Harry's lungs were burning. What had started as a bad day had turned into a nightmare. Despite having been struck with two separate patroni, the sheer number of Dementors following them were as relentless as ever. Harry's head was ringing from the screams and the pressure of the icy feelings...he stuttered, stumbled, and heard the girl roar again one last time before the world faded into darkness.

 ****Some Time Later****

Dumbleore went straight for Little Whining once he realized something was seriously wrong, but he himself and Kingsley Shakabolt reached the suburbs twenty minutes after the Dementors had been chased away.

They found the feral girl there, crouching over the bodies of Harry and another boy that looked remarkably like him. Neither boy was moving, though there was still enough colour in their faces to ensure that they were alive. The girl was on all fours, pale and exhausted from casting the final patronus.

She hissed like an angry cat when Dumbledore approached them, her eyes narrowing and her back arching when recognition flickered through her eyes. When Kingsley attempted to touch her, she spat at him and headbutted him, pushing him away from the boys.

Dumbledore attempted to stun her in response to this, she was obviously distraught, only to be shocked when the spell struck a shield and harmlessly disintegrated. The girl glared at him; she had summoned a shield spell silently without him noticing.

A child that young, using fluent wandless magic?

Ignoring him, the girl turned to Harry and nudged his shoulder. When he didn't respond, she turned her attention to the other boy, shaking him and growling in his face. When neither were roused, she made a small noise of distress deep in her throat.

Dumbledore waited for her to become truly distracted when he attempted to stun her again. This time, it did work, and she slumped over Harry and passed out.

Gently the old man walked up to her and turned her over. Kingsley gasped.

All three children had the famous lightning bolt scar.

"What's happened here, Dumbledore?" Kingsley asked.

"I don't know." Dumbledore admitted, looking down at the three with an increasing feeling of alarm. He wasn't used to not having the answer to the situations they were faced with. "Let's bring them all to St Mugos. Hopefully one of them will know what we don't."

He transfigured stretchers for Harry and his two friends, placing them each on one. Then they hurried off, hoping to head off the Ministry goons who would inevitably come searching for ammunition against the Boy Who Lived.

 ****~At St Mugos~****

Harry woke up an indeterminate amount of time later, in the warm white walls of the magical hospital. For a moment, he wondered if the Dementors had just been a nightmare, one of many he had been experiencing since Cedric's death.

Then he felt a small hand on his shoulder, turned his head to the right and saw the girl. She was sitting on the bed next to him, and she smiled a bit when she saw him siting upright.

"Awake! You still have soul. That's good," She said happily. Her words were stilted and awkward, as if she wasn't used to speaking.

"What...what happened?" Harry asked.

The girl frowned and shrugged uncertainly. "Don't know. Was asleep in woods one moment with a friend. Then suddenly I was in the street with you. I..I felt like I was being carried away. Like in rapids. You understand?"

"Um...sort of." Harry said hesitantly. He didn't understand, but he had a sense he wasn't the only one. "I saw you take care of those Dementors. That was pretty cool."

The girl beamed. "Soul suckers. First line of defence I learned."

"That's brilliant." Harry said. The girl blushed a bit and looked away. "What's your name?"

"Name..." The girl pondered for a second before saying, "Heather. I am Heather. Potter."

"Potter?" Harry didn't even have time to be surprised before the other voice broke in. He and Heather turned to see the other boy sitting upright, eyeing them with shock and suspicion. "That's impossible."

"Why? Who are _you?_ " Harry asked, heart thudding. _Don't tell me..._

"Hadrian Soprano." The boy said shortly. "But I was born Hadrian Potter."

 **End Chapter**

 _ **My brother rented The Sopranos recently, so that's where the idea for Hadrian's last name came from. Great show, even if my somewhat squeamish nature makes it hard to watch at points. There will be multiple romantic pairings (that includes Ginny, Hermione and others...), multiple world dichotomies, and plenty of surprises I don't want to give away yet. I hope you guys are as interested as I am!**_

 _ **Read and Review please!**_


	2. Chapter 2

**War of Timelines**

 _ **Wanda: Ow, my neck.**_

 _ **Tyene: That's what happens when you sit in one place for too long, bent over without moving.**_

 _ **Wanda: Ah, shaddup...it's totally worth it.**_

 _ **Tyene: Yeah, write the rest of that backstory tomorrow. You're going to crane your neck.**_

 _ **Wanda: I do not own Harry Potter...yeah, no duh...**_

 **Chapter 2: Heather and Hadrian, part 1**

 ****~World One~****

Heather knew that when you always expected the worst about people, it was easy for them to surprise you.

Heather Lillian Potter was born a day before Harry Potter. Naturally, her formative years were formulaic; Voldemort arrived, murdered her parents and failed to murder her, Pettigrew betrayed Sirius and got him sent to Azkaban for the betrayal/murders he had been responsible for, and the great Albus Dumbledore had sent her to live with her aunt and uncle Petunia and Vernon Dursley.

Of course, forcing people to take care of someone they loath, from a family they had deliberately cut out of their lives, usually has bad consequences.

It didn't take many bursts of accidental magic to convince Petunia that she needed to get Heather out of her life. Heather's fourth birthday party, where the girl had regrown the hair her aunt had attempted to cut three times in a row instantly, was the final straw for the woman. Petunia put Heather in the back of Vernon's car and drove out for miles until they reached the remote countryside. Then she walked deep into the woods, and went off the beaten path to a small cave. Then she abandoned the sleeping Heather there, and drove off feeling fulfilled.

She expected Heather to die. Apparently, she hadn't ever read Tarzan or the Jungle Book.

Heather was discovered by the mother bear who lived in the gave. Rather than maul the tiny morsel to death, the bear unexpectedly took pity on the human child. She had lost her sole cub to some poachers a few weeks before, and she looked down upon the little black haired scrap with more pity than her own kind had shown her.

Heather fell in love with the bear almost immediately. The bear cradled her in her paws and sang to her like her own cub. To a child who had only experienced abuse at her human relative's hands, this was a truly monumental difference.

When the guard searched the forest for her, Heather hid in the cave with Muqin. Her mother the bear.

So Heather began to live in the cave. At five, she was climbing trees and poles bare handed, jumping from tree to tree with the expertise of a bird.

At six, she was learning how to fight, harnessing her fight and flight instincts to trigger her magic on command. It allowed her to fight off a pack of vicious badgers who attempted to move into Muqin's cave.

Her magic had other perks. The environment she lived in caused it to develop differently, allowing her to understand fragments of animal speech. Heather could speak semi fluently to her mother, while also learning bits and pieces of other animals. Hypogryffs, wolves, foxes, horses, squirrels...even Thestrals.

The thestrals that lived in this forest were particularly begin. The head of the heard was named Akela, and he had driven away the vultures that were preying on the body of Muqin's first cub. Heather was allowed to ride on his back during hunts, and showed her what he could of the forest's magic in terms the child could understand.

At seven, Heather had her first encounter with a Dementor.

The soul suckers often attempted to hide themselves in the forest in order to prey on travellers, since human cities were often heavily protected. Sensing the child, three separate Dementors swarmed Muqin's cave. Muqin fought off the first two, only to find herself overwhelmed.

That's when Heather had her next dramatic display of magic. Enraged at this attack on her mother and desperate to protect her, Heather summoned a blinding white light. As it left the cave, it took on the image of a woman in a blue dress with gleaming green eyes, who drove the Dementors out of the woods entirely.

When she turned nine, Akela brought Heather to a small town to show her human civilization. Heather didn't like how suspicious everyone seemed, how the leaders were afraid of Akela, the gentlest and kindest soul in the Old Forest. They only stayed a week before an overzealous wizard attacked Akela, prompting Heather to maul him with her magic before fleeing back to the safety of the woods.

Heather did like the clothes, though. She stole a few and wore them ever since, though she wasn't quite as talented at keeping them clean.

At ten, Heather was the darling of the forest. She protected cubs from poachers, she drove off loggers who tried to encroach on the sacred grounds, she stole food from the humans whenever a family had insufficient foods for the winter. Muqin couldn't have been more proud of her surrogate child.

Then she turned eleven, and things got strange. An old man with a white beard came with a small platoon and abducted Heather from her home when she refused to leave it. They dragged her miles from home and took her to a massive black castle.

"You live here now," The old man told her. "We'll teach you how to read and write, and you'll regain your civilization. My dear, I'm so sorry I didn't realize Petunia had abandoned you..."

Heather let out a low growl. She hated this man on sight. She had learned to spot deception in the eyes of animals, because they rarely had need for such thing, and he was _always_ lying. He treated everyone like cubs, even those he supposedly considered his equals.

He refused to let her go home, even when she wept and called out for Muqin and Akela. She missed them so much it hurt.

Out of bitter stubbornness did Heather fight against 'Dumbledore' and his cronies as she called them – them and their arrogant attempts to 'civilize' her. Dumbledore claimed to be enlightened, but his building was full of unbalanced cruelty. There were sharp and frankly ridiculous divides between the various sects of cubs, with meaningless gifts driving them to hate each other.

They didn't fight for anything worthwhile. Malfoy told her over and over that there was some sort of 'secret thing' that made him and his fellow ... pure bloods? ...inherently superior to those who didn't have it.

Heather had never heard anything so stupid. Malfoy was pathetic! All he could do was whine at people. He had no skills, no talents, and he had a sort of cowardice to him that would leave even Hyenas, who typically didn't like hunting their own food, stupified with awe.

He couldn't do anything on his own. The minute a real threat presented itself to him, he ran and cowered behind his sires. He wouldn't last one day in the forest. It would have torn him apart and spat out the remains.

Heather told him so when he tried to recruit her into his ridiculous 'cause'. He was weak and pathetic. He got angry and tried to curse her, and Heather proved it by easily dodging his attempted attack and throwing him the length of the hallway with a twitch of her fingers. He struck the wall and passed out.

Heather then spat on the ground. "If I had wanted him dead, he'd be dead. I held back. Some _superiority_. I laugh at the power of 'pure blood'."

Dumbledore and his right hand man Snape tried to give her detention, but she simply left for the Forbidden Forest. All they gave her in response was empty verbal threats.

"You have no power," Heather told them scornfully. "I don't understand why they obey you."

The Forbidden Forest was fascinating. Heather spent most of her time there, where she met Firenze and his fellow centaurs. She liked them. They reminded her of Akela, and they taught her to observe and glean the future by watching the stars. She learned magic in ways the other humans outright _refused_ to. It was mind boggling!

She discovered her human mother's murderer on her own. She saw the layered magic on Quirrel during the 'lessons' he was given. And when she confronted him, Voldemort (Flight From Death? The arrogance of some humans truly spun Heather's mind) openly admitted and gloated about it.

Heather ripped his throat out with her sharp teeth.

The Forbidden Forest's thestral herd initially mistrusted her. They had only been shown real kindness and respect by the Gatekeeper, Hagrid – the only other person who Heather liked, as well.

He didn't treat her like an aberration, he didn't try to force her to give up her connection to her home and her family. He didn't try to gaslight her like Dumbledore's men had at first. He respected her. He listened curiously when she related the lessons and experiences of her life to him. Hagrid wanted to understand them. And that was why Heather loved him.

He wasn't like Hermione Granger, who liked to obsessively tell Heather who she _should_ be and tried to force her to meet those expectations. He wasn't like Ron Weasley, who kept calling her a 'feral freak'.

He wasn't like Dumbledore, who had stolen her from her home and yet expected her to serve as his Beta in an invisible war.

Hagrid even got a baby dragon. Heather cradled him in her hands when he was born, and he licked her fingers and nipped at her. Norbert, as they agreed to name him however, was illegal to 'own' according to – who else – Dumbledore.

So Heather took him into the Forbidden Forest. The centaurs offered to take him to the mountain north, so he could grow up away from the prying eyes of the "Ministry".

After that, Hagrid helped her gain the trust of the thestrals.

The head of the herd, Rasia, apologized for her initial coldness. They had been forced to wear iron harnesses and been hunted for their connection to death for a long time before hiding out in the forest, leaving them with an ingrained distrust of humans. Once she realized Heather was different, she flew her home to the Forest.

Heather introduced Rasia to Akela. Her surrogate father quickly became infatuated with the tough, battle scarred female. Muqin approved, which was funny because since her mate had died, she was usually quite reserved on such matters.

The Forest acknowledged that Dumbledore would continue to force Heather to come back to his Black Castle, so some of them ought to go with her instead of leaving her alone in that vicious place.

When she was twelve, Heather met two interesting girls.

Ginny Weasley and Luna Lovegood.

Luna was the only one not afraid of the Thestrals. She had lost her mother at the age of eight and had always possessed a wonder for the world that most of her companions laughed at her for. She treated both Akela and Raisa with respect and affection.

Ginny couldn't see them, since she was yet to see death herself, but as opposed to her brother Ron, she seemed intrigued with Heather, her thestral and bear family, and her world.

Heather grew very attached to the other two girls. Luna and Ginny would slip off to the Forbidden Forest whenever they had a moment, and Heather taught them how to use magic the way she did. Soon enough, both Ginny and Luna floored Professor McGonagall by using 'wandless magic' as easily as breathing.

Muqin taught them to fight normally as well. Ginny took to these lessons with enthusiasm, allowing her to knock Ron aside when he and Hermione again tried to drag Heather off on Dumbledore's orders. Luna was able to prevent the other Ravenclaws from stealing her belongings with a well placed smile after a few months.

"Saturn is glowing brightly tonight. Can you tell me what that means?" Firenze asked his three human students with a slight smile.

"It's an omen for hard times?" Ginny guessed.

"Someone's going to loose something they consider very important to them," Luna added, "but it won't be a tragedy, will it? Because Saturn's colour isn't muted."

"Correct." Firenze said. "Heather, can you tell me who this person might be?"

Heather focused on the sky, looking at the stars surrounding Saturn. "It's someone who has power." She predicted. "And they're going to loose some of it, but not all of it."

"I really hope it's Malfoy. If anyone needs humility, it's him." Ginny grumbled. " _Wait till my father hears about this!_ " She mimicked in a high pitched, whiny voice. Luna collapsed on her side, laughing herself sick while Heather just grinned.

Ginny, by befriending Heather and staying out of the school often, had inadvertently spared herself a lot of mental trauma. She had virtually abandoned her 'new diary', which Lucius Malfoy had given her with the intent of her opening the Chamber of Secrets. The man became so angry and vexed about this he ordered his son to _ensure_ that the young girl activated it as part of his scheme to deal a blow to Dumbledore.

Draco eventually put Ginny under a Confundus to get her to write in the book one evening, opening the Chamber door and awakening the Basilisk.

While the humans ran around in a panic (like headless chickens, Muqin snorted as she watched Dumbledore stomp around with Snape in tow, trying to figure out how this was Voldemort's fault), the Forbidden Forest debated what to do. Emmie was the Forest's eldest unicorn, and she immediately sensed the creature's return through the discord it was spreading.

"She's in terrible pain," Emmie noted sadly. "Her mind has been broken by the spell connected to that book. She can do nothing but what he commands her."

"What _is_ the book?" Firenze wondered in concern. "What could inflict such a state on one of our eldest and most powerful kind?"

Heather and Luna had noticed how oddly Ginny was behaving, and that night they caught Draco confuding her to write in it. After giving him a vicious beatdown in retaliation (he was left with every bone in his dominant arm broken and claw marks messing up his face) Heather took the diary out and presented it to Bane and Emmie.

The unicorn let out a wail of alarm and staggered backwards when the object was presented. "What's wrong?" Luna asked, started and worried.

"That thing you hold is pure evil," Emmie informed the two girls. "Someone has violated ancient law and tore apart his soul for power."

"It could only be one person," Bane noted darkly. "Voldemort's savagery was well known, but his lack of wisdom was known only to us. It must be a part of his soul; that is why he was able to return after Lily Potter destroyed him that night."

"How do we destroy it?" Heather asked.

"As I said, Voldemort has no wisdom. The very being he has enslaved is capable of destroying this cursed artifact. But you must be cautious, one look from her eyes will strike you dead." Bane warned the children.

Heather, Ginny and Luna went down into the Chamber the next day, wearing shaded glasses and using misdirection magic to confund the tortured basilisk, leading it to an alcove near the forest. There, Heather cast a spell that made the diary look like a part of her arm. Following the basic command of Voldemort's spectre, the basilisk shredded it in her mouth, even as the man (realizing his mistake) screamed at it to stop.

The spell lifted, the basilisk fled into the forest to rest and recover. Emmie revealed to the girls that the creature's name was Amanda, and she was as old as the Black Castle itself. She had protected it and its lands before, and once she recovered she would likely return to that state – after all, she had been hatched by Helga Hufflepuff and Salazar Slytherin, who had shared a deep understanding with the magic of the forests and the creatures in their lifetime.

At the end of the second year, the Weasleys did something that Forest Law could not forgive. When Dumbledore said that using their daughter to get to Heather for the Greater Good was necessary, they manipulated Ginny's love and trust in them to set a trap for Heather, who only escaped with help from Muqin, Akela and Raisa. To betray one's own offspring that way was an affront. It was only considered acceptable when the offpsring or sires threatened the lives of all, and the humans imaginary power plays were not included in such clauses.

Distraught, Ginny ran away with Heather. The two lived together then, forging a deep and unshakable emotional bond, leaping from tree to tree as they made every forest still standing their own. Occasionally joining them were Luna and her father, the oldest expert in the magic of the forests and animals – who was dismissed as a lunatic and a fraud by the wizard public.

In the third year of Heather's experiences at Black Castle, she was confronted with her human mother's history again. The story of Sirius Black's supposed betrayal of Lily and James Potter to their deaths spread through the Forbidden Forest like wildfire, enraging all who heard it. This betrayal of a sacred principles could not be allowed to stand, they all agreed.

This year was more dangerous than most, because of the Ministry's most recent decision.

Firenze and Muqin had forbidden Heather, Ginny and Luna to remain close to the school, for the Ministry had sent Dementors to seal the exists. Dementors were some of the few creatures in the world that were wholly evil and wretched to their cores, and the Forest could not for their lives understand how the humans could so easily risk the souls of their offspring to catch one sole criminal.

The Forest had another visitor that year. Remus Lupin occasionally spent his full moon nights there, rendered peaceful by the Wolfsbane potion. Muqin took pity on the suffering creature and let him rest in her cave whenever he did.

Like Heather as a child, Remus was surprised by the compassion and welcome the Forest offered him compared to his home.

Sirius attempted to hide in the Forbidden Forest in his animagus form, hoping to be able to snatch Pettigrew from Ron Weasley's dorm room to prove his innocence. However, he found himself captured by Emmie, Akela and Raisa, who brought him before the Centaurs, Heather, Ginny and Luna to address the crime.

The forest knew truths in a way that humans had forgotten to, so when Sirius pleaded his innocence, the creatures all took pause and listened to him. Amanda, having semi recovered from her ordeal at the hands of Tom Riddle, went into the school and brought back a petrified rat with a missing toe.

Emmie unlocked the stone form, and Peter Pettigrew was found guilty of the betrayal of Heather's parents. As forest law decreed, Heather took on her panther animagus form and ripped the miserable man to shreds, leaving behind only his head to prove that he had lived past the date he had supposedly been slain by Sirius.

Sirius went into St Mugos to recover from his twelve year exposure to Dementors, at Emmie's urging.

"The damage those monsters do cannot be left untouched," she told him, "or you risk suffering further even when not within their grasp."

The Fourth Year at Black Castle was Heather's most hated so far. The stars warned her that Dumbledore would become more and more desperate to turn her into the Beta and Sacrifice Lamb he had initially designed for her, but the Tri Wizard Tournament opened more avenues for danger.

Rita Skeeter delighted in writing several exposes on 'the Feral Child of Hogwarts', how 'she seemed savage and childlike, almost more a wild cat than a human girl' 'seemed to civil and uncivilized simultaneously'. The woman's words were harsh and cruel, and while they were nothing Heather wasn't already familiar with, they opened the entire school up to no longer hide their mockery, fear and hatred of her 'feral' nature.

Heather, Ginny and Luna had to protect themselves far more often, though they did it well. They grew stronger each year, after all. The more they had to depend on each other, the more their feelings changed. Now that they were discovering what romantic feelings entailed, their destinies grew closer, or so Emmie said.

The unicorn loved bringing individuals together.

Norbert returned from the North just in time for the first task. He, Heather and Ginny rescued the imprisoned dragons who had been chained for the task. _The Ministry respects nothing but itself,_ Heather said bitterly.

The second task solidified Luna's hatred of Black Castle now. Ginny had been kidnapped from the Gryffindor Tower, drugged and tied up underwater. While the Mermen had prevented her, the child Gabrielle, Hermione and Cho Chang from being harmed by the more vicious underwater monsters, Ginny had nearly drowned when the spell on her wore off before Heather reached the surface.

Luna had gone into an uncharacteristic rage, calling the Headmasters 'child killers'. The French champion, while she hadn't spoken up, had looked like she very much agreed. Gabrielle had a creature bite a chunk out of her arm on the way to the surface.

Finally in the third task, Heather herself had been kidnapped to facilitate Voldemort's resurrection. Barty Crouch Jr was proud of the task he had set up...until he, Voldemort and the minions turned at a loud screech and found themselve facing a wide eyed and furious Amanda.

Twenty Death Eaters died on the spot.

The Forest turned against the man and his creations. Akela and Raisa trampled Death Eaters underfoot; Muqin tore apart the ones holding down her daughter, Norbert incinerated anyone attempting to escape and Ginny and Luna, having transformed into a leopard and a rhino respectively, ripped and stamped Voldemort to his third death.

Leaving a bloody mess behind, the Forest retreated.

The Ministry insisted that 'good, upstanding members of society had been violently and cruelly destroyed by savage animals'

Heather had been sleeping in her den with Ginny and Luna when the Tug of the Universe had abruptly pulled her elsewhere.

 **End Chapter**

 _ **Next time - Hadrian's history.**_

 _ **Read and Review please!**_


	3. Chapter 3

**War of Timelines**

 _ **Wanda: And now for Hadrian's side of the story! Hope you enjoy.**_

 _ **Disclaimer: Do not own Harry Potter. Obviously.**_

 **Chapter 3: Heather and Hadrian part 2**

 ****~World 2~****

Hadrian James Potter was taught to hate at a young age.

Vernon Dursley was a vicious drunk and a high handed man. Signs of magic were met with whippings with a belt. Hadrian would find himself locked away in the cupboard at the slightest provocation, and left in there for days until he ran the risk of starving to death, and which point he was -reluctantly- given food by Petunia.

Dudley Dursleys was a hellspawn in the making, and he and his toadies ganged up on Hadrian whenever there was an opportunity. At a mere five years old, Hadrian's back was covered in scars from both his uncle and his cousin, left by knives, a belt, and burns from being shoved up against a hot stove whenever he didn't appropriately prepare the food.

Hadrian silently seethed in the cupboard over his treatment, developing a sense of nihilism and misanthropy. There was no good in the world, just pretty words dressing up selfishness, apathy and mistreatment. Justice was a comforting lie wrapping up viciousness, murder and institutionalized cruelties.

At seven years old, Hadrian attempted to kill his relatives. He emptied a canister of gasoline in the living room and set it alight. He only succeeded in burning himself and Dudley, sending them both to the emergency room.

Vernon would have murdered him then and there if there hadn't been a warning from Dumbledore that he expected Hadrian to show up alive, if 'thinner and hungrier than I might hope' at the School of Freaks when he turned eleven. Furious, Vernon demanded to be compensated. Dumbledore arranged for him to get the deed to a new house.

However, that new house had been eyed up by a young couple; Daniel and Jasmine Soprano. Daniel, as it would happen, was the son of the most powerful Mafia Don in London – Gerald Soprano. Having chosen the house during the Open House, the twosome were extremely annoyed when it was inexplicably handed over to some loudmouthed whale, so they started spying on the family.

Now, Jasmine was the daughter of another, though less powerful Don from America. And while she was as uncompromising and dangerous as a soon to be Mafia Queen would be, she also had a sweeter side, which she showed around children – in particular, her daughter Jessica.

Jasmine took a liking to Hadrian after watching him for a short while, and her motherly instincts were inflamed by Vernon, Petunia and Dudley's mistreatment of them.

Jessica met Hadrian when he pulled her balloon out of the tree it had gotten stuck in. She developed a child's crush on him and started following him around, which meant she was there when Dudley and his gang took another go at his _freakish cousin._ Jessica defended her hero, warning Dudley that her parents would ' _mess him up_ '.

Dudley laughed and punched her in the face, injuring her nose and making her bleed. Hadrian sprang up and protected her in turn, helping Jessica climb over the fence to the back yard to escape the bullies.

Unknown to all except the injured girl, they were standing outside of Jessica's house, and both her parents were watching.

Jasmine, upon seeing these events from her window, turned to her husband and said with false cheeriness, "Dear, may I borrow your phone for little while?"

Daniel, his eyes blazing with equal rage, nodded in agreement. He handed his wife his phone, full of contacts to his father's 'fixers', and stalked downstairs to scare off the little shit who had hurt his daughter.

Jasmine Soprano was a patient, vicious woman. She pretended to get Vernon a promotion at his job, on the condition that he come and meet her at a fancy dinner party. "And please bring both your children; my precious Jessica has been so lonely in this new town."

Vernon didn't suspect anything. He proudly dragged Dudley and Hadrian to the car, brought Petunia, and went far out of town to the mansion where Gerald Soprano lived. Petunia, to her limited credit, began to wonder that something was up when they walked through the ornate iron gates of Soprano hotel. She had heard gossip that this family was dangerous, but Vernon's confidence got the better of her.

Jasmine greeted the two in an expensive blue dress. She was a beautiful young woman, tall and pale skinned with wavy brown hair decorated by a jewel studded butterfly hairpin, sapphire blue eyes, and a winning smile. She wore a silver pendant around her neck. Daniel at her side in his military uniform. He had tousled brown hair and colder brown eyes. He was well muscled, a scar running across his face thanks to an incident with shrapnel during his tour of service. Jessica was standing next to her mother, wearing a lacy white dress with red trim. Her hair was long like her mothers and brown like her fathers, and her nose was still slightly crooked from Dudley's attack on her a few days ago.

Petunia's eyes widened in alarm. The little brown haired girl was grinning at Dudley, pretty blue eyes glinting maliciously. Something was wrong.

Jasmine soothingly offered dinner to the new family. Jessica immediately latched onto Hadrian's arm and pulled him to the table, picking his dinner for him. Vernon, after a glass of wine, dismissed this as the girl being cute.

He didn't realize that his wine and food was spiked with poisons and drugs. Jessica was ensuring that Hadrian didn't eat any of the tainted food. Meanwhile Dudley, who had always eaten too much, consumed enough to kill an elephant. About half way through the meal Dudley started to choke. He at first called it a cough, then he spat up blood.

Petunia screamed and ran to his side, holding Dudley as he sputtered up blood and saliva and slowly choked to death while his mother wept and wailed.

Jasmine, still smiling, snapped her finger and summoned twelve armed hit men from the hallways, watching Dudley die.

"You're stupid, Durlsey." Daniel informed the stunned, slovenly man as he stared at his dead son. "It's one thing that you stole from my family. I could have just let you off with a warning. Then I caught you beating your nephew."

Calmly he reached down and petted Jessica on the head. The girl beamed and rubbed against him. "I'm a lot of things. For one...I'm a father. And as I father, I couldn't let you continue to take that boy close to death."

"Come here," Jasmine cooed at Hadrian, offering him her hand. The black haired boy stared over at Dudley's body for a minute before slowly walking over to the older woman. She took him in her arms and gently stroked his hair. "It's okay, sweetheart. They're never going to beat you or slash up your back again."

"Jasmine wanted you just locked away at first," Daniel reminisced. "I thought I would just expose you stealing that deed out from under us. You probably would have only gotten a few years, at worst...however..."

His eyes narrowed. "Then you hurt my daughter. You must know...I'll never let that pass."

"Micky?" Jasmine called sweetly. A massive scarred man built like a tank stepped forward. "Help us get Mr and Mrs Dursley out back, will you? Oh, and Rebekah, please get Jessie to the baths, her dress has gotten stained."

Hadrian silently followed Jasmine and Daniel out to the massive back yard to their mansion. Waiting there were two freshly dug holes. Hadrian paused in his steps, causing Jasmine to look down at him in concern.

"What's the matter, darling? It's okay. Nothing bad is going to happen. Just stay next to me, alright?"

Hadrian nodded slowly. Jasmine offered him her hand, and he took it after a moment of thought.

Petunia was still wailing, Vernon was starting to shout as well. Jasmine and Daniel walked up to the graves, looking between the various hit men holding the two adults steady as they struggled. Daniel looked down at the boy.

"What's your name, kid?"

"...Hadrian."

"Okay, Hadrian. Why do you think these two freaks were allowed to slash up your back and leave you to bleed the way they did?" Daniel asked calmly.

Hadrian thought for a minute before shaking his head. He was afraid to answer. Vernon had always hated it when he answered questions, or asked them.

"It's alright if you don't know, Hadrian. You're still young, and you've got a lot to learn about the world. If you had to guess, why do you think they got away with it?"

"Because..." Hadrian's brow furrowed with deep concentration. So...they wanted an answer? He didn't want to disappoint them them... "Because they're in respectable society? No one believed me when I tried to tell them."

Daniel nodded. "You're on the right track, kid. Most people think that abusing kids is something the low ranked, crack addicts do. They think if you're capable of scraping money together, you've above that. Well, here's your first real world lesson, kid. When the chips are down, civilized people will eat each other."

Hadrian blinked up at him. "Everyone?"

"Everyone." Daniel agreed. "This world we live in only exists because the Romans massacred the tribes who lived here first and put their ancient democracy in place. The church is in place because anyone who spoke against it was burned alive. Wars and violence decide who is in charge. You following me?"

Hadrian thought for a moment, before nodding.

"Good." Daniel said. "Do you want to do the honors, my dear?"

"Oh, thank you Daniel." Jasmine said. "Come here, Hadrian." Hadrian obediently walked over to her again. "They're never going to hurt you again." Her voice became ice cold. " _Bury them_."

Vernon and Petunia were both flung into the open graves. Vernon was still screaming when the dirt was poured down on him. Hadrian watched them be buried, his eyes becoming cold. He watched for a minute, before spitting on Vernon's gave.

Jasmine and Daniel both looked proud.

 ****~Later~****

Hadrian was adopted the next day. The paperwork was pretty rushed, and Rebekah was standing nearby with a threatening expression to ensure everything went smoothly. Hadrian took on the last name Soprano and moved into the mansion.

Jessica was thrilled, and asked if they could share a room.

Daniel and Jasmine both educated Hadrian in the way of their organization. The young boy was surrounded by more money than he had ever seen before, and suddenly he could get almost anything he wanted. However, he treated it differently than Dudley would have – Hadrian usually had to sell _why_ he wanted something to his new parents. If he could convince them, he got it.

Hadrian grew to love his new parents and his sister, and he gladly entered the world of organized crime as his inheritance from Daniel.

He learned a lot of things about power. Power was the fault lines of civilization. He learned how to control it thanks to both his parents.

When he turned eight, Hadrian saved his adoptive mother's life with magic, psychically blasting the knife out of the would be assassin's hand. When he was captured, Hadrian asked the men to spare him – so he could personally execute the one who had dared to threaten his family. Daniel handed him a .45 calibre gun and he shot the man dead with only a moment's hesitation.

No one threatens his family.

The discovery of magic changed Soprano lifestyle somewhat. Jessica had pouted slightly that she couldn't obtain magic herself, while Jasmine and Daniel began to look into this world that was hidden right under their noses. Through members of their organization who had muggle born children, they gained access to Diagon alley, the general wizard world structure, and its history.

"They don't have a mafia?" Hadrian wondered at one point.

Rebekah shrugged. "I don't know, Hadrian. I'm not allowed to enter it until Colin comes of age, at which point he'll be invited to Hogwarts."

"Huh. Exclusion, eh?" Hadrian mused. "That should be an interesting challenge."

Rebekah chuckled. "You're so dramatic, Hadrian. I'm sure you'll succeed. Just don't get cocky."

"Of course I won't. Father and mother taught me better." Hadrian said with a small smirk, tapping his fingers against the barrel of the gun he had earned at eight.

"Jessica will be disappointed."

"I'll hardly be ignoring her."

"You'll only be able to talk with her through letters until the holidays." Rebekah noted. "The whole society is horribly outdated in technology. They don't even have _pens,_ they use quills – like some horrible Medieval times parody."

"Well it wasn't going to be perfect." Hadrian said with a slight smirk. "Unless I can make it that way."

"How very humble." Rebekah said with a smirk.

Hadrian made his way to Hogwarts with a cool, confident swagger and an intimidation that few eleven year olds shared. Along the way, he picked up both Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley with his charisma alone, intimidating Draco away when the boy attempted to insult the bushy haired muggleborn.

He had just stood and stared down at the little ponce; it was obvious he'd never been in a real fight before. When Draco pushed it, Hadrian gave him a brutal kick and sent him running.

Hadrian shocked everyone at Hogwarts when he was sorted into Slytherin. People couldn't stop bitching about how it wasn't right for a Potter to be a snake.

Hadrian didn't understand it and didn't care. He would make his own reputation, people's expectations be damned.

Hermione latched onto him after that; she'd never had a real friend thanks to her great intelligence and social anxieties. Ron, meanwhile, hadn't really had the money to enjoy life the way Hadrian, or even a middle class child, could have. He nearly choked when Hadrian offhandedly gave him a bag full of galleons to buy himself a new wand after he saw the state Ron's hand me down was in.

Hadrian waved off Ron's initial weak protests. Money was never an issue for him. He had more than he technically needed for himself. Once the redhead had gotten over his internal war of accepting charity, he had become Hadrian's loyal right hand man, by his side in everything.

And that was just the beginning. When Halloween rolled around, things got even _more_ interesting.

Hadrian had excused himself from dinner to pay his respects to his parents. While walking down the hall, he heard an alarm call followed by a terrified scream coming from the direction of the Girl's Bathroom. Heading in that direction revealed a massive mountain troll menacing a pair of Hufflepuff best friends, Susan Bones and Hannah Abbott.

Hadrian shot the creature in the head, splattering its brains across the wall, before leading Susan and Hannah to safety. The girls admired his iron nerves and dedication to them, especially after he got in trouble with the Headmaster for 'not going to his Dorm when he was told to'. So they joined his group.

Hannah was an aspiring Healer, while Susan hoped to eventually become a skilled politician like her aunt and adoptive mother figure in Amelia Bones, head of the DMLE. Hadrian had a way of drawing people to him.

After that incident, he earned the respect and friendship of Flora and Hestia Carrow, a pair of initially cold and guarded girls who had been brutally mistreated by their insane Death Eater parents.

It was Flora who told him the whole truth about his parents, and sat there in understanding when Hadrian, seething and in tears at the revelation, swore revenge on Voldemort and the man's followers.

Much later in the year, Hadrian came across rumors of the Philosopher's Stone. He and his team of trusted companions broke past the various defences and stole the stone after a confrontation with Voldemort, parasiting on the back of the head of one of his followers – the Defence teacher Quirrel.

Infinite gold. Immortality. It would become Hadrian's crown jewel.

Hadrian patiently built up his web.

In his second year, he met Ron's little sister Ginny. The girl admired his legend deeply and wanted to be part of his life. Hadrian found her adoration cute enough that he didn't mind. Colin Creevy, Rebekah's son, also joined the school this year. A hopeful journalist, he also looked up to Hadrian and worked at his side.

This year was when the Heir of Slytherin and its pet Basilisk started being a problem. Draco Malfoy was the first one petrified, not long after he had gotten into another fight with Hadrian and his friends, in which he (again) called Hermione a mudblood and the Boy Who Lived a blood traitor.

Hadrian networked among his fellow Slytherins to find out the source. Daphne Greengrass, a friend of Flora's, told him about the previous time the Chamber of Secrets was open. Interrogating Hagrid about it revealed the connection to Tom Riddle, the former name of Lord Voldemort.

However, the MO of the current attacker was...strange, to say the least. Instead of attacking muggle borns, they seemed to be targeting anyone who seemed to stand in Hadrian's way. Bullying teachers like Severus Snape inexplicably dropped dead, while students like Draco, Cormac (a Gryffindor Bully) and Theodore Nott turned to stone.

After some detective work, Hadrian eventually discovered at Ginny was the one under the influence of the Diary. It was a fragment of Tom Riddle's soul, but even his toxic influence was unable to overwhelm Ginny's adoration and devotion to her hero, so she instead attacked those who posed potential threats to him.

Hadrian was genuinely amazed by this, and once he rescued her from the Diary and the Basilisk, he offered to marry her when she came of age. He embraced the idea that she so loved him, and was devoted to him. (it wasn't something he had experienced before.) He was reminded of Jasmine's love for Daniel in her. Ginny was delighted.

Neither child knew at the time that Molly Weasley and Dumbledore had conspired to put the two of them together as a means of consolidating the Potter fortune and future. Molly had been giving Ginny an altered version of a love potion, with the intention of eventually getting the two together once her daughter was safely capable of bearing children. Molly was once a Prewett, and she missed the fortune that had been gambled away by her parents. That, and becoming a Potter would raise the family up the social status after they had been considered paupers for several generations. The family's future would be utterly secure if their children were also Potters.

Dumbledore wanted to secure his legacy. It was his belief, thanks to the Prophecy, that Hadrian and Voldemort would have to die together, or else they would become the Dark Lord that would threaten his vision for the future of Magical Britain. Part of his plan involved, after Hadrian 'died', Ginny and her prospective child would come under his protection as 'penance' for failing to protect the hero boy, eventually adopting the child and moulding him into his perfect successor when he finally moved on to 'the next great adventure'.

However, what neither of the conspirators had predicted was the 'influence' not acting as they had predicted. Ginny's affection for Hadrian was so strong that she would happily go against her family, or indeed against the world, for his sake. And, thanks to absorbing the ability to speak Parceltongue along with the sixteen year old Riddle's memory, she became his right hand lady and his main terror tool for controlling not just Hogwarts, but eventually downtown magical London.

After all, the Basilisk was female...and she laid eggs. Over the summer, with Ginny, Hannah and Flora's assistance, Hadrian hatched four of them.

In the third year, this tool was used against Sirius Black and the Ministry workers who came to make a fool out of their organization by being exactly as useless as they were the previous year.

Black ended up dying before the truth about James and Lily Potter's betrayal came to the rising Mafia Don. Hadrian became so enraged by this, that when Peter Pettigrew was caught, he paralyzed the man and turned him over to Micky – his father's reserved Torture Technician.

Micky slowly killed the man over the space of four months.

In the fourth year...that's when Hadrian's scope expanded more. Hogwarts was a castle of fear; everyone obeyed what the last Potter wanted, or face his wrath. The Tri Wizard Tournament got him contacts in other magic countries.

Hadrian had been watching Ginny sleep next to him when the shift in the universe carried him away.

 **End Chapter**

 _ **I always thought - and rarely ever see - that if Harry was to be a Dark Lord, then Ginny would be his equivalent to Bellatrix Lestrange.**_

 _ **Read and Review please!**_


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